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Aung San Suu Kyi’s son speaks to detained former Myanmar leader for first time in five years

Kim Aris says ‘hearing her voice again means more than words can express’ amid loosening of detention restrictions

The son of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to speak to the detained former democratic leader for the first time in more than five years.

“Today, I was finally able to speak with my mother, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after more than five years. Hearing her voice again means more than words can express,” Kim Aris said in a post on Facebook on Thursday.

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© Photograph: Spokesperson for the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Spokesperson for the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Spokesperson for the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar/AFP/Getty Images

Meta strikes deal with Zuckerberg to protect him from California wealth tax

22 October 2026 at 11:10

Company says deal will keep its chief executive living in California even if state brings in one-off billionaire tax

Meta has struck a deal with Mark Zuckerberg to protect him from the threat of a California wealth tax targeting billionaires.

The social media company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp revealed on Wednesday night that the arrangement would keep its chief executive living in California, where its headquarters are located.

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© Photograph: Godofredo A Vásquez/AP

© Photograph: Godofredo A Vásquez/AP

© Photograph: Godofredo A Vásquez/AP

Experts alarmed by ‘less transparent’ CDC as US measles deaths rise

22 October 2026 at 11:00

Agency declines to reveal in which state latest measles death occurred as it delays reporting other measles deaths

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added a third measles death to its dashboard on Wednesday, but the agency would not reveal whether the death occurred in Pennsylvania or another state – which is “notable” as the agency delays reporting other measles deaths, experts say.

The CDC cited privacy laws in not sharing the name of the state, but experts say there are no privacy concerns in doing so – and this information is important for the public to have as the outbreak continues accelerating, growing by 8% in one week to 4,410 confirmed cases so far this year, nearly double last year’s count.

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© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

In reliably blue Minnesota, could Democrats do the unthinkable and lose a Senate seat?

Frustration with a sprawling fraud scandal has cut Peggy Flanagan’s poll lead – could ex-NFL reporter Michele Tafoya win a first statewide election for Republicans in 20 years?

As Democrats fight to regain control of the US Senate, hopes are rising in states – from Kansas to Texas – where they have not prevailed in decades. But in Minnesota, where Republicans have not won statewide election since 2006, the contest for an open Senate seat is closer than expected.

Should Peggy Flanagan – the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor – win the election, she will be the first Native American woman to serve in the US Senate. But history has not yet been made. The closely watched Cook Political Report shifted its rating on the race this week from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat”.

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000

22 October 2026 at 10:00

The Cali Fund, set up to raise $1bn a year for biodiversity from drug companies, remains near empty

Big pharmaceutical companies have been accused of “free-riding on nature”, after a landmark biodiversity fund that invites businesses to put some of their profits back into conservation was left virtually empty.

The Cali Fund set out to raise $1bn (£750m) annually, by asking companies that profit from nature’s genetics to contribute towards conservation in low-income countries. But more than 18 months after the fund was launched, it remains far below this target.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000

22 October 2026 at 10:00

The Cali Fund, set up to raise $1bn a year for biodiversity from drug companies, remains near empty

Big pharmaceutical companies have been accused of “free-riding on nature”, after a landmark biodiversity fund that invites businesses to put some of their profits back into conservation was left virtually empty.

The Cali Fund set out to raise $1bn (£750m) annually, by asking companies that profit from nature’s genetics to contribute towards conservation in low-income countries. But more than 18 months after the fund was launched, it remains far below this target.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

© Photograph: Rebecca Cole/The Guardian

Macron condemns ‘seditious acts’ by ‘ultra-left’ and says he will seek to ban some protests – Europe live

22 October 2026 at 11:45

French government will show ‘absolute’ determination to stop the riots, Macron says

As we are waiting for Macron, first details of the planned police response to this weekend’s protests are emerging.

Junior interior minister, Jean-Didier Berger, said that the police presence will be “20% higher” than last weekend, with reinforcements from the army, elite police forces and gendarmerie.

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© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

French borrowing costs overtake US amid budget turmoil

22 October 2026 at 09:40

France’s bond market hit by another bout of selling as country recovers from weekend protests

French borrowing costs continued to rise on Thursday, as investors fret that France’s government is struggling to pass a federal budget after public protests gripped the country.

France’s bond market was hit with another bout of selling, with the difference between French and German 10-year borrowing costs – a metric for the risk premium attached to French debt – rising to its highest level in almost 15 years.

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© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

French borrowing costs overtake US amid budget turmoil

22 October 2026 at 09:40

France’s bond market hit by another bout of selling as country recovers from weekend protests

French borrowing costs continued to rise on Thursday, as investors fret that France’s government is struggling to pass a federal budget after public protests gripped the country.

France’s bond market was hit with another bout of selling, with the difference between French and German 10-year borrowing costs – a metric for the risk premium attached to French debt – rising to its highest level in almost 15 years.

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© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Macron condemns ‘seditious acts’ by ‘ultra-left’ and says he will seek to ban some protests – Europe live

22 October 2026 at 11:40

French government will show ‘absolute’ determination to stop the riots, Macron says

As we are waiting for Macron, first details of the planned police response to this weekend’s protests are emerging.

Junior interior minister, Jean-Didier Berger, said that the police presence will be “20% higher” than last weekend, with reinforcements from the army, elite police forces and gendarmerie.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

Thursday news quiz: Liz is absurd, Apu finds words and a bloke steals a bird

22 October 2026 at 06:00

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

The Thursday quiz is aware of standard international units of time, such as the Liz Truss (49 days) and the Scaramucci (11 days). Now a new unit of measurement has entered the chat: the Zacharia (five days). But whatever arbitrary length of time the world invents to measure chaos, political downfalls or social media meltdowns, the Thursday news quiz remains resolutely fixed. It is always seven days apart, unwavering, inescapable and ultimately reliable. Which means, once again, it is time for some questions on topical news, pop culture and general knowledge, with no prizes on offer except pride. Or shame. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 270

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© Photograph: JackF/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: JackF/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: JackF/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A violent and coordinated youth uprising? That’s exactly the picture Europe’s enemies want to paint | Alberto Alemanno

22 October 2026 at 05:00

Each country’s protesters have distinct grievances. Listen to them, not the voices telling us Europe is ungovernable

Last Saturday night, the town hall of Limoges in west-central France was set ablaze. By Sunday, images of the fire destroying a symbol of the French republic, and other scenes of unrest across France, were everywhere, but being used to tell very different stories about what is happening in Europe.

For some, the flames announced a pan-European youth revolt, proof that a single movement was sweeping the continent. Donald Trump, who had already insisted that the French schools protests were not about schools but about migration and Islam, urged Europeans to “close the borders”. The mayor of Limoges saw the fingerprints of an alleged ultra-left insurrection.

Alberto Alemanno is the Jean Monnet professor of EU law at HEC Paris and the founder of The Good Lobby

France readers Q&A: Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst will be live taking questions from our readers about the unrest in France from at 1500 BST / 1600 CEST on Friday 23 October. Send your questions by email now to conversations@theguardian.com or post questions in the comments from 0900 BST here.

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© Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP

© Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP

© Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP

Ukraine war briefing: New peace proposals lack ‘substance’, says Kremlin after Witkoff-Putin meeting in Russia

US envoy Witkoff presented Putin with proposals drafted by Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo earlier this week. What we know on day 1,702

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© Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

© Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

© Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

Officials confirm flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite found in US wildlife

USDA says screwworm found in elk in Texas, and warns hunters and ranchers to be vigilant to help stop spread

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Wednesday it had ⁠confirmed the ⁠first detection ​of flesh-eating parasite the New World screwworm in US wildlife in an ⁠elk in Pecos county, Texas.

The elk was located on a game ⁠ranch and was reported after being harvested by ​a hunter, the ‌USDA said ‌in a statement.

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© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters

© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters

© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters

Orangutans prefer food associated with sounds of laughter, study suggests

Apes in study more likely to choose treats linked to sound of peers having fun, suggesting emotions influence learning

Orangutans base their food choices on whether others appear to be having a good time, research suggests.

Scientists studying captive orangutans have found that when the great apes heard the sound of their peers laughing before they searched a bowl for a tasty treat, they valued the reward more highly.

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© Photograph: Elisabetta A Villa/Getty Images

© Photograph: Elisabetta A Villa/Getty Images

© Photograph: Elisabetta A Villa/Getty Images

Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack

US photojournalist describes ‘protective shield’, vows to return to work in West Bank and criticises Netanyahu comments on incident

The Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Friday has described how she was saved with the help of local Palestinians.

Heidi Levine sustained four fractured vertebrae, two broken ribs and four puncture wounds when she was knocked to the ground and repeatedly beaten by a crowd of masked settlers while she and other journalists were covering the olive harvest in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah, north of Ramallah.

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© Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

© Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

© Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

‘You are a humanitarian also, sir’: the US feeds Putin with lies as Ukraine’s children take cover and die | Andrew Roth

Steve Witkoff’s flattery of the Russian leader could be just the start of a mendacious stratagem from a US president who says Moscow ‘has been fine on Ukraine’

They say the first casualty of war is truth. For the Trump administration, the road to peace with Russia now encompasses some extraordinary lies.

Steve Witkoff delivered one as he sat down with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, aiming to close the deal on Russia’s land grab in Ukraine with the White House’s strategy of maximum pressure on Kyiv and saccharine flattery of the Kremlin.

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© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

‘You are a humanitarian also, sir’: the US feeds Putin with lies as Ukraine’s children take cover and die | Andrew Roth

21 October 2026 at 18:57

Steve Witkoff’s flattery of the Russian leader could be just the start of a mendacious stratagem from a US president who says Moscow ‘has been fine on Ukraine’

They say the first casualty of war is truth. For the Trump administration, the road to peace with Russia now encompasses some extraordinary lies.

Steve Witkoff delivered one as he sat down with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, aiming to close the deal on Russia’s land grab in Ukraine with the White House’s strategy of maximum pressure on Kyiv and saccharine flattery of the Kremlin.

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© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

© Photograph: Pete Kiehart/The Guardian

Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted

21 October 2026 at 18:18

Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’

The US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns that drew global backlash was halted, the lead researcher said on Wednesday.

It was “now clear” that the study “will not move forward in Guinea-Bissau”, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, a Danish researcher, wrote on LinkedIn, adding, “we were not given the necessary governmental approval.”

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© Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

© Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

© Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Taiwan charges five men over plot to run over comedian for his Xi Jinping jokes

21 October 2026 at 17:13

Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao, New Taipei prosecutors say

Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping.

Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary.

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© Photograph: Huang Yi-hao/Facebook

© Photograph: Huang Yi-hao/Facebook

© Photograph: Huang Yi-hao/Facebook

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